Athens, Ga. – Poet and screenwriter James Ragan will read from his work on Wednesday, April 4, at 4:15 p.m. in room 261 of Park Hall. Ragan’s reading is sponsored by the J.O. Eidson Lecture Series in the University of Georgia’s department of English. The event is free and open to the public.
An internationally recognized poet, Ragan is the director of the graduate writing program at the University of Southern California. He has read his verse for five heads of state, including Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Czech President Vaclav Havel. Most recently, he has been a featured reader at Carnegie Hall in New York and before the United Nations. He has presented his work around the world. Among his volumes of poetry are In the Talking Hours, Womb-Weary, The Hunger Wall, Lusions and Too Long a Solitude. He is the co-editor of the collected poems of Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
As a professional author, Ragan has also written for both the stage and film. He has worked on many notable motion pictures, including The Longest Yard, The Border, Matilda and the Academy Award-winning The Deerhunter. His most recent films are The Last Story of the Century, about the siege of Sarajevo, and the forthcoming The Shoe. His television credits include How the West Was Won, Number One and the PBS movie Exile. As a playwright, his best known works are Saints and Commedia, produced in San Francisco by Raymond Burr.
After the poetry reading, Ragan will take questions about his experiences in these areas, including his personal relationship with some of the most well-known actors in Hollywood.
